Indicator for liquid-containing vessels.



M. M. woon.

INDIUATOR FOR LIQUID GONTAINING VESSELS. APPLIUATION FILED 1330.12,1902.

NG MODEL.

BOOOQGOOOOOL Witnesses 4 fa *f PATENTED SEPT. 22, 190s.

Inventor .montavi le ITL Wood.

5o proved indicator.

Nrren STATES* Patented September 22, 1903.

PATENT Fanion.

MONTRAVILLE M. .'WOOD, OF SCHENEC'IADY, NE YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERALELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

INDICATOR FOR LIQUID-C'ONTAlNlNG V-ESSELS.

sPEcIFIoATIoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 739,629, datedseptember e2, 1903. Y

Application iiled December 12, 1902. Serial No. 184,982. (No model.)

.To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that LMoN'rnAviLLn M. Woon, a citizen of the United States,residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State of New York,haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Indicators for Liquid'Containing Vessels, of which the following is a specification.

Itis important iii the oper-ation of power systems of various kinds, andmore especially those intended for automobile service, to provide ameans for indicating the level of the liquid in the tanks or vessels,Whether the latter bold fuel or Water. It is customary to put a gageglass on the side of the tank or vessel and pipel it thereto above andbelow the Working level. This is a fairly successful means forWater-tanks', -but is totally unsuited for fuel-tanks containinggasolene or similar Huid. When the glass of an automobile Water-tankbreaks, nothing serious happens if the operator notices it in time toclose the cocks in the connections. If he does not, there is danger ofbeing stalled'. On the other hand, if a gage glass is used on agasolenetank and it breaks there is great danger of setting the vehicleon iire and burning the occupants. This is particularly true if the tankis Working under pressure. To avoid accidents, fuel-tanks are 'madeWithout indicators, and a common Way of determining the amount of fuelleft is to insert a stick and observe houT far from the end it is Wet.Obviously such a practice is not a convenient or desirable one, and inany event it or any other method of inspecting which involves openingthe tank can only be practiced by rst relieving the tank of its pressureand then resubjecting it to pressure a thing which is most inconvenientand necessitates a delay. The present invention has for its object toprovide a device for indicating the huid-level of a closed vessel whichis ycapable of Withstanding any pressure to which the tank may besubjected, is practically indestructible, and is simple in construction.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a tankfitted with my iin- Fig. 2 is a vertical seetion of the indicator, andFig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig.

Y 1 represents the ordinary tank of an automobile, and it may containfuel or Water, as desired. .A pump 2 is arranged to put the contents ofthe tank under pressure more or less great. The average fuel-tank Worksfrom fifty to one hundred pounds pressure per square inch, and this Ihave found to Work satisfactorily with my improved indicator. Situatedat one end of the tank and piped to it above and below the normal iiuid-level is a non-transparent tube 3, made of non-magnetic metal or othersuitable material having closed ends. The construction is best shown inFig. 2, wherein 4. and 5 represent holders or elbows that are arrangedto receive the pipes 6 and 7 from the tank and the main tube 3. Theholders are provided with detachable screw-threaded caps ,Which aresuitably packed to make tight joints. It 1s to be noted that the tube '3is made long enough to cover the opening from the pipes 6 and 7; butsmall passages 9 and 10 are provided to permit the contentsof the tankto enter the main tube. The object of thus eX- tending'the tube is toprevent the lioat 11 from being retarded, caught, or held 1n .aninoperative position. The iioat 11 can with advantage be made of cork;but other materials capable of floating can be employed, if desired.`Mounted in the float, and preferably in the center, so as to balance it,1s a small bar 12,'of magnetic material.Y I have found hard steel toWork satisfactorily; but other metals may be employed, if desired. Theiloat freely rides up and down Within the tube as the level of theliquid in the tank changes. U

In order that the operator may determine the height of the liquid in thetank, aneedle 13y is employed, which is carried' by a movable slidingpiece or sleeve 111, that surrounds the main tube 3. The needle can Withadvantage be polarized, as it will be more sensitive With respect to thebar .12. 1 have shown a complete compass, but obviously any polarizedneedle Will do as Well. The compass bon or support is provided With ascrew-` threaded end 15, that passes through a pro- IOO vmovement canreadily be observed;

jection on the sleeve and engages with the main tube. It is desirable,although not necessary, to so arrange the compass box or support thatwhen its face is turned upward the sleeve is free to slide up andI downon the tube and when it is rotated so as to face downward to clamp thesleeve in place. Obviously when the needle is adjacent to the bar 12 onthe float it will be attracted, and its The shape of the pointer endalso indicates whether or not it is attracted.

In operating my invention the tank can be iilled in the usual way andsealed, after which it can be put under any desired pressure by the pump2. The main tube being made of metal or iber and of suitable thickness,it will withstand any desired pressure. When the operator desires toascertain the amount of liquid in the tank, he releases the sleeve 14 bygiving the compass a half-turn. This brings the needle 13 into view,after which the sleeve is adjusted up or down until a point is reachedwhere the needle is strongly attracted. This being found, the operatorcan tell exactly how much liquid there is in the tank. away or left inthe last-mentioned position, as desired. The main tube 3 may or may notbe provided with indications 16, that preferably indicate quarts orgallons, depending upon the size of the tank. The liquid is drawn fromthe tank by the connection 17.

In order to make the detection of the fluidlevel more easy, I provide asmall magnet 18, which normally tends to attract the pointed or northend of the needle. The effect of this magnet on the needle is less, ofcourse, than that of the magnetized bar 12. Vith the arrangementdescribed a half-revolution of the needle is always assured whenever itcomes within a definite distance of the bar l2.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes I havedescribed the principle of operation of my invention, together with theapparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof;but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is onlyillustrative and that the invention can be carried out by oth er means.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is-

1. In an indicating` device, the combination of a non-transparent tube,a oat mounted within the tube, a body of magnetic material carried bythe iioat, a sleeve which engages the tube and moves thereon, anindicator, a box therefor, and a screw-threaded means attached to thebox and arranged to pass through the sleeve and impinge on the tube forsecuring the indicator and the sleeve in position on the tube.

2. In an indicating device, the combination of a non-transparent tube, afloat mounted within the tube, a body of magnetic material The sleevecan then be moved'I carried by the float, a sleeve which engages thetube, a compass-box capable of vertical and rotary movement, and ascrew-threaded extension on the box which passes through the sleeve andclamps it tothe tube when rotated in one direction and releases it whenrotated in the opposite direction.

3. In an indicating device, the combination of a non-magnetic metaltube, a float mounted within the tube, a body of magnetic materialcarried by the float, a compass-needle for indicating the position ofthe float, a box for the needle, asleeve surrounding the tube, and ascrew-threaded projection formed on the box for securing it in invertedposition when not in service.

4. In an indicator, the combination of a main tube, holders located ateach end thereof, connections which lead from the holders at pointsbetween the ends of the tube and carry' liquid to and from the tube thesaid tube partially covering theA openings in the connections, a iioatwhich is capable of moving up and down with changes in level of theliquid and is prevented by the tube from be-l ing aifected bytheconnections, and a manually-adjusted polarized needle for indicating theposition of the float.

5. In combination, atank, a pair of holders each of which is providedwith openings, a tube which enters one of the openings in each holderand partially covers a second opening, connections which are attached tothe tank. and enter other openings in the holders, a float, apiece ofmagnetic material carried by the float, a sliding sleeve surrounding the`tube and engaging therewith, and an indicator having a screw-threadedportion which enters the sleeve and clamps it to the tube.

G. In an indicating device, the combination of a non-transparent tube, afloat mounted within the tube, a body of magnetic material carried bythe float, a sleeve which engages the tube and slides up and downthereon, a compass-needle, a box therefor, and a screwthreadedprojection on the box which passes through the sleeve and impinges onlthe tube when it is desired to clamp the box in a iixed position.

7. In an indicating device, the combination of-a non-transparent tube, afloat within the tube, a body of magnetic material carried by the float,a sliding support surrounding the tube, an indicating device carried bythe support which is affected by the body of magnetic material, and ascrew-threaded clamping means formed on the indicating device itself forsecuring it in any desired position. on the tube.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 10th day ofDecember, 1902.

MONTRAVILLE M. VOOD. Vitn esses:

' BENJAMINB. HULL,

HELEN ORnoRD.

IOO

